Richard Chamberlain has died at the age of 90

His close friend and former partner, Martin Rabbett, told People: "Our beloved Richard is with the angels now.

"He is free and soaring to those loved ones before us. How blessed were we to have known such an amazing and loving soul. Love never dies. And our love is under his wings lifting him to his next great adventure."

In lieu of the flowers that would be traditionally bought and presented in time for a funeral, Martin insisted that those wishing to pay their respect should donate to either NPR or the Hawaii Humane Society if they can.

In the late 1950s, Richard served in the United States Army before beginning his career the following year and by 1961, he had attained global fame as young intern Dr. James Kildare in the NBC drama 'Dr. Kildare'.

The series ran until 1966, and Richard even released a recording of the show's theme tune 'Three Stars Will Shine Tonight', which reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time.

Following this, he briefly appeared in opposite Mary Tyler Moore in the musical version of 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' but the production closed after just four previews and no official performances.

He spent the 1970s starring in film and television projects such as 'The Last Wave', 'The Slipper and the Rose' and 'The Man in the Iron Mask '.

In the 1980s, he appeared in various television miniseries such as 'The Thorn Birds' and 'Shogun', earning a reputation as king of the genre.

For the rest of his career, Richard made guest appearances on series such as 'Will and Grace' and appeared in Broadway shows such as 'My Fair Lady' and 'The Sound of Music'.

In his memoir 'Shattered Love: A Memoir' - which was published in 2003 - Richard confirmed that he was gay for the first time, and in one of his last interviews, he explained that he had to have been "very careful" as a young actor to not out himself.

He told Fox News Digital: "I had to be very careful and very circumspect.

"Magazines did lots and lots of interviews, and they sort of suspected. They would ask me questions like, 'When are you going to get married and have children?' I would say, 'Well, not quite yet. I'm awfully busy.' I had to be careful for a long time.

"It was inhibiting. But I got so used to it that it was just habitual to be sort of careful and on guard in certain situations. Yes, I would've been a happier person to be out and free and all that. But I already had so much to be happy about. I was a working actor, and that's the main thing I wanted out of this lifetime."